I am excited to announce that this issue of BDJ Team contains the first article to be accepted for publication that was submitted via our new manuscript submission portal, launched last year (http://mts-bdjteam.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex). This is S. Nandra and O. Aiyegbusi's research article Dental nurse to dentist - a battle against all odds? I would love to hear from any dental nurse readers who have aspirations to become a dentist, or indeed have already made that giant leap.

Our cover story this issue examines the role of the dental team in delivering conscious sedation, covering how the dental nurse, dental hygienist and therapist, and even the dental receptionist is involved in managing a procedure that is highly likely to involve an anxious patient.

Our CPD article this February was provided by Canada-based dental hygienist Linda Douglas, looking at the autoimmune disease Sjögren's syndrome: what it is, how it can be identified, the oral symptoms and how to manage it in the dental practice setting.

In addition to completing this month's CPD, there are also 21 further hours of free CPD to complete on the CPD Hub: ten hours from 2016, ten from 2017, and last month's January CPD. However, we are going to close the 2016 CPD hours at the end of March, so please make sure you complete the CPD quizzes before the deadline!

This month's BDJ Team is packed with research and clinical content but do be sure to read about Shaun Howe's educational journey from dental hygienist to qualified dental therapist, at the age of 46, something he achieved through commuting from the Shetlands to Essex! Shaun says his new scope of practice has ‘rekindled’ his passion for dentistry. We are delighted to share his experience with BDJ Team readers.